Sarah Kaufman
Special to The Lake Report

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum last week received more than $50,000 in grants, including a big boost for its popular mobile Tiny Museum.

The museum was pleased to host Lisa MacLeod, Ontario's minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture, MPPs Wayne Gates and Sam Oosterhoff, and Lord Mayor Betty Disero for a provincial funding announcement for organizations in the Niagara Region.

The announcements included $15,355 for the museum through the Community Museum Operating Grant and $37,800 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

The Trillium Foundation grant will be used in partnership with $25,000 from the David S. Howes Fund and Vintage Hotels NOTL Community Fund at the Niagara Community Foundation, for the development of exhibitions and educational programs for our mobile museum, the Tiny Museum.  

The Tiny Museum looks similar to a “tiny home” on a trailer, but its interior has been retrofitted with display cases.

We are very excited to get this phase of the project started. Our school programming is minimal due to a lack of space at our facility and this project will help us step outside our doors and into the community to bring the collection and the history to the students and residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

A large portion of the money from these two grants will be used to hire a co-ordinator who will make curriculum connections and develop the programs and exhibitions to help supplement teachers’ lesson plans.

The Tiny Museum will not just be used for school programs. It will also be taken to community events and festivals across Niagara so that the NOTL Museum can continuously engage with the community and showcase Niagara-on-the-Lake’s vibrant cultural heritage.

MacLeod enjoyed a tour of the museum and a sneak peek at the Tiny Museum during her visit and expressed interest in its development.

Keep your eyes peeled over the next year to see where the Tiny Museum will pop up! 

* Sarah Kaufman is the managing director and curator of the NOTL Museum.